Shoe fastener



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` E. LOEHR-VOIGHT SHOE FASTENER Aug. i4, 1923.

E. LOEHR-VOIGHT SHOE FASTENER Filed Aug. 25. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 `Patented lstig.. ili, i923.

A EDWARD LOEIR-VOGHT, 03E BYSIDE, NE'MV YORK.

snor. erlesenen.

Application led August 25, 1921. Serial No. 495,199.

T 0 @ZZ whom t may cof/worn.'

Be it known that I, EDWARD This invention which relates to shoe fas# teners Vhas for an object the provision of an arrangement for fastening the upper of a shoe about the foot and ankle of awearer without the use'of devices, which require time for adjustment and connection, such 'Y as the usual laces, or other devices which Yae have been proposed for 'this purpose, but which require the fastening together of a number of parts.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a fastener which shall also serve as a closure for the opening in the upper of the shoe and which will have -a neat appearance and while of simple and ineXpen-. sive construction will serve 'to hold the upper snugly and comfortably about the foot and ankle of the wearer.

Anotherobject of the invention Vis the provision of a fastener which may be detachably secured to a shoe of the usual type provided with eyelets, or maybe perma nently fastened to the upper of a shoe so that the-eyelets may be eliminated, which willY be an .advantage in many VcasesV since they are not needed for laces and their removal will improve the appearance of the shoe.

In accordance with 'the invention the fastener consists 0f a pair of guides disposed within the upper of the shoe substantially parallel to the edges of its open ing and held in place by separate holders which may be detachably fastened in the eyelets of the shoe or permanently fastened to the upper of the shoe in which case the eyelets may be dispensed with, if desired. Y

Cooperating with each guide are slides which arearranged to slip freely along the guide without interfering with the holders by which itl is held in place. TheV slides of each guide are attached to a strip of flexible material, :such as leather or fabric, which lies between them and the foot to Loman-v Voroii'r, a citizen of the United States, re-

prevent these parts from hurting the foot or injuring the hose. The two strips are connected to each other by a strip of suitable elastic material. The three strips form in effect a tongue having a stretchable centralV portion. 'The lower end of the tongue is attached at the bottom of the upper and its upper end lies at thc top of the upper when in closed position. Since the slides attached to the tongue may slide freely along theguides the 'tongue may be pushedv down to the bottom ofthe opening in the upper to permit the foot to be inserted or removed, or pulled up tov draw the edges of the opening together and thus fasten the shoe'on the foot as well as to close the opening. The top of the tongue may be provided with suitable fastening` devices for holding it in pulled up position.

The particular nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will appear more clearly from a descrip' tion' of certain preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in whichi fFig. l is a view of the shoe provided with a form of fastener detachably secured to the eyelets through which the lacing ordinarily passes,

Fig. 2 shows the fastener of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale and as `viewed from withinthe shoe,

Fig 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the fastener of Fig. l.

Fig. 4L is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a form of fastener adapted to be permanently attached to a shoe, so that the usual eyelets may be omitted, if desired,

Fig. is a view sin'iilar to Fig. 2 of another form of fastener, andV .Fig 6 is a transverse sectional view of the fastener' of Fig. 5.

Referring particularly to Figs. l, 2 and 3, l represents -a shoe having an upper 2.with a front opening 3 on each side of which is a series of eyelets l. In accordance with this invention the usual lacing is omitted and into each of the eyelets is hooked one end of an S-shaped holder 5 of suitable material, such as wire. The other ends ofthe holders of each series of eyelets are permanently Vattached in any suitable manner to a guide 6, which may be of any shape in cross-section but which is shown herein as of substantially circular cross-section. The guides when in place lie substantially parallel to the edges of the opening 3 and will be 0f suitable material, such as wire or the like, to conform to the curves of the shoe upper as it lies against the foot and ankle of the wearer. The guides are attached at their lower ends to the shoe as shown at 7.

As shown most clearly in the transverse, sectional view F ig. 3 the holders extend partlyv around the guides 6 before being` attached to the latter and hold the guides spaced from the inside of the upper of the shoe. Extending around substantially the remaining surface of the guides are a number of slides 8 of suitable material, such as wire. The slides of each guide are attached, as at 9, to a strip l0, of flexible material, such as leather of the kind used for forming tongues of shoes of usual construction. The two strips 10 are connected to each other by a Strip 11 of elastic material. rlhe lower ends of the two strips 10 and the strip 11 are fastened permanently as at 12 to the bottom of the shoe upper, and at their upper ends the strips are detachably secured to the top of the shoe upper by suitable fastening devices 13, such as snap fasteners or the like. The strip 11 is formed with a tab 14;.

The strips 10 and 11 form in effect a tongue which may be pushed down to the lower portion of the shoe upper or drawn up to the position shown in the drawings, the slides 8 slipping along` the guides 6 during such movement. It is for the purpose of permitting` the slides to pass along the guides without catching upon the holders 5, that the latter and the slides are arranged with respect to the guides as shown most clearly in Fig. 3.

When the slidable tongue is pushed to the lower portion of the shoe upper the opening 3 is free, and the foot may be inserted in the usual manner. Upon pulling the tongue upwardly by means of the tab let the shoe upper is drawn aroundv the ankle and the tongue closes the opening 3 as shown most clearly in Fig. 1. The elastic strip 11 will stretch as the tongue is pulled upwardly and by its elasticity' draw the upper'about the ankle while allowingit to conform to the latter, so that when in place thefastener will cause a snug, comfortable lit of the upper of the shoe and have a neat appearance. To prevent the tongue from slipping down its upper end should be fastened by the devices 13. Since the holders 5, guides 6 and slides 8 lie between the upper and the strips 10 they will not press against the ankle in an uncomfortable manner nor tear the hose.

lf desired, the shoe may be easily converted into one adapted to be laced in the usual manner, by Simply detaching the holders 5 from the eyelets and removing them and the guides 6 to which they are connected. The strips 10 and 11 may then be used as a tongue in theusual manner, or if the presence of the slides 8 is objectionable in such a case the strips may be removed and a tongue of the ordinary type substituted in their place. Y

The embodiment of the inventionV shown in Figs. 1, 2 Vand 3 and described above is particularly adapted for cases in which it is desired to apply the invention to shoes of the usual type provided with eyelets. in many cases, however, the construction will be simplified and the cost reduced by omitting the eyelets from the upper of the shoe and permanently fastening the holders thereto. Such an embodiment is shown in Fig. 11 in which the holders 5 are so formed at one end 15 that they may be sewed or otherwise permanently attached to the shoe when it is manufactured. The remaining parts of the fastener such as the guides 6, slides 8, strips 10 and 11 are of substantially Y the same construction as the corresponding parts of Fig. 2 and coact with each other in the manner described in connection with that figure. i

In Figs. 5 and 6 there is shown a modification of the invention in which the guides 6 are in the form of flat members provided with slots 16 in which are buttons or similar devices 8 attached to the strips 1( f and provided with enlarged heads to`hold them in the slots. The buttons correspond to the slides 8 and Sof Figs. 2 and l respectively. The device of Figs. 5 and 6 may be detachably or permanently attached to the shoe in the same manner as are the devices of Figs. 2 and 4. As shown herein they are detachvably connected by means of Vholders 5 adapted to be hooked into the eyelets et of the shoe at one end and at the other end permanently attached in any suitable manner to the guide 6.- The holdersrhold the guides spaced from the inside of Vthe upper of the shoe to give room for the heads ot the buttons and are bent as shown most clearly in Figz in order that the heads may pass by them as the tongue is drawn up or down. The holders 5 are preferably attached to the portions of the slides 6 lying nearer to the edge of the opening 3 in order to prevent the slots from being widened by the strain of the tongue. as might occur in case the holderswere attached to the other por- Y tions of the guides.

The `gui des are constructed of suitable material, such -as metal, sufliciently thin to occupy a minimum amount of space between the shoe upper and the strips 10 consistent with the required strength of the device, and pliable enough to conform to the curve of the foot and ankle.

F rom the above description of certain preferred embodiments of theV vinvention it will be seen that it provides a shoe fastener of simple, inexpensive construction having no parts which require to be attached to each other after the device has been applied to a shoe, eXcept the two fasteners at the top of the tongue. rlhe device may therefore be easily and quickly operated which renders it particularly useful for policemen, firemen, soldiers, sailors and other persons subject to emergency calls and who are required to dress in a hurry. The device is of such a character that it does not mar the appearance of the shoe but on the contrary adds to the same by permitting the eyeletsA to be remo-ved. It is however equally adapted for use with shoes in which the eye# lets are retained and therefore may be applied to existing shoes as well as to shoes constructed especially for use with the fastener. Y f

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described it will be understood that it may be embodied in other forms and that various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the principle of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. A shoe fastener comprising guides, a plurality of separate devices for holding lghe guides spaced from the inside of the upper of the shoe adjacent to the opening therein, and a member extending between the guides and slidably attached thereto for closing the opening and drawing the upper about the foot and ankle of the wearer.

2. A shoe fastener comprising guides, a plurality of. separate devices for holding the guides spaced from the inside of the upper ofthe shoe adjacent to the opening therein, a plurality of slides associated with each guide and a member attached to the slides and extending between the guides for closing the opening and drawing the upper about the foot and ankle of the wearer.

3.v A shoe fastener comprising guides adapted to be detachably secured to the eyelets of the shoe along the inside of the upper of the shoe adjacent to the edges of the opening therein, and anelastic member extending between the guides and slidably attached thereto for closing the opening` and drawing the upper about the foot and ankle of the wearer.

el. A shoe fastener comprising guides secured to the inside of the upper of the shoe adjacent to the edges of the opening there in, a plurality of slides associated with each guide, a strip of flexible material attached to the slides of each guide, and a strip of elastic material connected between said strips, all of said strips forming a tongue for closing the opening and drawing the upper about the foot and ankle of the wearer.

5. A shoe fastener comprising guides secured to the inside of the upper of the shoe adjacent to the edges of the opening therein, a plurality of slides associated with each guide, a strip of elastic material, and strips of flexible material attached to the slides and to the strip of elastic material and forming with the latter a tongue adapted to be drawn lengthwise of the opening to permit the foot to be inserted into the shoe or to close the opening and draw the upper about the foot and ankle.

6. il shoe fastener comprising guides secured to the inside of the upper of the shoe adjacent to the edges of the opening therein, a plurality of slides associated with each guide, a strip of elastic material and strips of flexible material between the guides and the foot and attached to the slides and to the stripof elastic material and forming with the latter a tongue adapted to be drawn lengthwise of the opening` to permit the foot to be inserted into the shoe or to close the opening and draw the upper about the foot and ankle.

7. A shoe fastener comprising a plurality of members adapted to be detachably secured to the eyelets of the shoe, a guide at tached to the members of each series of eyelets and lying substantially parallel to the edge of the opening in the shoe, a plurality of slides associated with each guide, and a member attached to the slides and extending between the guides for closing the opening and drawing the upper about the foot and l ankle of the wearer.

8. A shoe fastener comprising a pair of slotted members secured to the inside of the upper of the shoe adjacent to the edges of the opening therein, a plurality of members slidably mounted in each slot, and a tongue member connected between the slidable members of each guide and adapted to be drawn lengthwise of the opening to permit the foot to be inserted into the snee or to close the opening and draw the upper about the foot and ankle.

9.111 combination with the meeting edges of a shoe opening, a fastening device com- .prising a pair of guides secured adjacent to the meeting edges and spaced from the inside of the shoe, an elast-ic tongue secured at its lower end within the shoe and a plurality of separate devices attached to the tongue and slidably engaging the guides.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EDWARD LOEHR-VOGHT. 

